Smart Practice For Guitar

Jeff Scheetz 2016 | All rights reserved, including the
rights to copy, sell, reproduce or distribute this book or

portions thereof in any form whatsoever. If you would like
to use any portion, you must first have permission, please
contact jeff@smartpracticeacademy.com.
A Smart Practice Book

Part of the Smart Practice System
Published by TrueFire LLC
100 Seventh Street South Saint Petersburg, FL, 33701
& Smart Practice Academy 106 E 164th Terrace Belton, MO, 64012
Written by Jeff Scheetz
Copyright 2016 by Jeff Scheetz

Digital Print Edition
ISBN 0-399-08257-6
Visit the website at www.smartpracticeacademy.com
2 I SMART PRACTICE FOR GUITAR

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
FOUNDATION METHODS AND CONCEPT
What is Practice? Practice Notebook
The Three Ps Tools
Make it Easy
THE SYSTEM Number One Problem
Goals and Vision Chunking
Skillbox Inventory Lists Teachers
SMART Zone Practice A Measuring Stick
Schedule Your Time Frustration
5 SMART Steps Bored?
The Four Rs Stretching Physiology
Relax
SMART PRACTICE TECHNIQUES Work on Your Weakness
Right, Wrong, Right Left Hand vs Right Hand
Do it Like You Will Do It Be Prepared
Super Slow-Mo Mental Game
Play it Backwards
Play it in the Dark TO SUM IT UP
Play Like Carl Summary
Fun and Games Endnotes
Five Times Perfect
Do it Different
Bump the Ceiling
WRITTEN BY JEFF SCHEETZ | WWW.SMARTPRACTICEACADEMY.COM I 3

INTRODUCTION
SMART PRACTICE FOR GUITAR
Thanks for picking up Smart Practice for Guitar! I am excited to share my Smart Practice
System along with many of the practicing techniques that I have developed and tested
over the years. I have not only used these on my own playing, but have also helped thou-
sands of students get great results with these methods.
Let me explain how the system is laid out and give you some pointers on how to get the
most out of it. The material is divided into several sections; the main ones are The System,
Smart Practice Techniques, and Methods and Concepts.
The System section is the core of Smart Practice and you will start by setting up goals for
your guitar playing. Then you will create what I call the Skillbox Inventory Lists and sched-
ule your time into Smart Zones. When you sit down to work on your material use the 5
Smart Steps to really drill down. There are Worksheets in these sections as well as in the
master Workbook that play an important role in helping you craft your practice system. So
make sure you take the time to fill out the Worksheets to get the most out of the System.
The next section is Smart Practice Techniques and here you will find a bunch of useful
practicing techniques that will spice up your practice time. Just drilling on something
over and over is not only boring, but science now tells us it doesnt work nearly as well as
mixing things up! So here is where you can do some mixing. Some of these techniques
might seem a little wacky, but have some fun with them and get creative!
In the Methods and Concepts section I go over practical tips to consider when you are
practicing. Many of these will hopefully spark your thinking about how you have been
practicing and what you can do to make it better.

Of course any system of practice only works when you apply it, and I certainly think it will
benefit you the most if you do every single thing in the Smart Practice System! However,
one cool thing about this System is it is modular. If you just need to figure out your sched-
ule, you can use that section. Or if you want to get some new ways to work on stuff, you
can pull from the techniques section. There is no doubt in my mind that practicing more
effectively and efficiently will help you take your guitar playing to the next level. For more
practicing tips and insights check out my website www.smartpracticeacademy.com.
Now jump in and get started make this the year you will really get better as a player. As
George Eliot said Its never too late to be what you might have been.
Practice Smarter, and Get Better!

SECTION 1
FOUNDATION
CHAPTER ONE
P
ractice. Just the mention of the word conjures up powerful feelings. We have
been aware from an early age that people who have achieved greatness
have gotten there by practicing. We have been told Practice makes perfect.
We have heard the story of the young musician who is walking in New York
City and asks a gentleman How do I get to Carnegie Hall? The gentleman simply replied,
Practice. We have most likely experienced practicing rst hand; You guys go out in left
eld and catch some balls, Go to your room and practice your clarinet, The band is

coming over tonight for practice running through the setlist, and so on.
However, although we know practice is important, and have been taught that it is the
number one ingredient in excelling at any skill, why is it so many of us still struggle to
improve on things we want to be better at?
I believe it is not that we dont know we need to practice, its that most of us have never
been taught how to practice.
Whether you are training to become a virtuoso, or just want to play music for the fun of
it, following an organized practice system will help you achieve your goals more efciently.
Either way the key to practicing is getting maximum results from the time you put in, and
this is what the SMART Practice for Guitar system will do for you.
WHAT IS PRACTICE?
CHAPTER TWO
D
ening Practice is a great place to start. In my years of teaching I can think
of many students who struggled to improve, even though they said they
were putting in the hours on their instrument. When I would ask them if
they practiced that week they would say Heck yeah! Last night I played for
3 hours. But when asked to dene exactly what they did for those hours, their response
was often I had a couple of friends come over and we jammed on Black Sabbath and
then played some video games. While that could technically be considered putting in
some hours it is NOT Practicing!
K. Anders Ericsson is one of the leading researchers in the eld of expertise. He has
studied what it takes to achieve a high level of skill in numerous disciplines. His research
shows that proper practice, what he calls Deliberate practice, Requires effort and is not
inherently enjoyable and that Individuals are motivated to practice because practice
improves performance. So it is not just about fun or the short term enjoyment, but rather
the joy that will come from what it will eventually give you. That is hard for musicians and
creatives. Our DNA says Lets jam!! So if you really want to improve your playing, the rst

thing you have to do is change from a mindset of just noodling aimlessly when you sit
down to practice, to one of playing the things that will actually make you a better guitarist.
We will look at how we can practice in a way that will make us better, and still incorporate
some things to keep it fun.
THE THREE PS
CHAPTER THREE
E
ach time you pick up your guitar, you are doing one of these three things.
Which one of these you focus on the most, and invest the most time in will
determine how you excel.
Play Prot Practice
1. PLAY
This happens each time you pick up your guitar and are just messing around. Maybe
playing some songs for a friend, jamming to your favorite T.V. commercial, playing cartoon
themes, or just testing new delay pedals. There is nothing wrong with this rst P, as a
matter of fact it is an essential part of playing a musical instrument. It adds the fun to
playing. You will advance to some degree just by playing around, however, it will not be at
the same level or speed of advancement as SMART practice time. Too much time spent in
this area will give you the illusion that since you are putting in hours, you must be getting
good. It also leads to frustration; if you feel like you are stuck in a rut there is a good
chance you are spending too much time in Play.
2. PROFIT
This is any time you pick up your instrument for work, or because you have to. (You may
not actually be making a prot, but you are doing something that is not exclusively for
your own enjoyment or advancement.) Maybe it is doing a gig at the local pub, or playing
Sunday morning at church, or recording a solo in your brother in-laws home studio for his

demo. Like Play - you can get better in this area. For example if you are playing in a band
that is doing 6 nights a week in a club -that is a lot of playing and certain aspects of your
playing will benet from that. However, most Prot playing opportunities dont require
you to push your playing to the edge or try new things. In fact, it is usually just the oppo-
site - play the part - play it safe - play it right.
3. PRACTICE
I dene practice as Doing activities specically designed for the purpose of improving
performance in an organized and systematic way. Not just playing around or doing it
for the heck of it, but practicing for a specic purpose. Read that again. Doing activities
specically designed for the purpose of improving performance. This is Practice on
Purpose SMART practice.

SECTION 2
THE SYSTEM
CHAPTER FOUR
T
he core of the SMART practice for guitar system can be viewed as: Setting
your goals; Creating lists of all your knowledge by taking a Skillbox Inven-
tory; Scheduling the things from your lists in your SMART Practice Zones;
Using the 5 SMART steps to work on each thing you are practicing.
In the next several sections I will breakdown each of these steps for you. So lets
get started!

GOALS AND VISION
CHAPTER FIVE
B
efore we dive into our practice system, it is a good idea to know the ulti-
mate purpose for practicing. In other words, take a look at what your goals
are as a musician and a guitarist.
I am always amazed at how few guitarists actually have goals for their playing. Most are
just sort of oating along, learning bits and pieces here and there, hoping somehow they
magically improve. How do you know what you need to study if you dont know where you
want to end up? The best example of the folly of not having a direction can be found in
the Alice in Wonderland story. Alice asked Which way should I go? The wise Cheshire Cat
responded by asking her Where do you want to get to?. Alice replied I dont much care
to which the Cat answered Then it doesnt matter which way you go. Likewise, as a gui-
tarist and musician you should have a path laid out to take you where you ultimately want
to end up, or once again you will end up frustrated.
Just like setting goals for anything in your life, your musical goals can be comprised of
short term and long term goals. It is often good to set your long term goals rst and then
work backwards in time to gure out the steps you will need to take to get there.
*
Dening your long term goal is important and will help determine the things you work on.
For example, if your long term goal is to be a virtuoso and an in demand studio musician,
your path will be much different than if your goal is just to be able to play a few songs
to sing around the campre. Both are genuine goals, but have different routes you will
take to get there. You can have several long term goals: such as I want to be able to play
in a band I want to be able to write and record my own songs I want to know 50 Jazz
standards. But if you just leave it at that, it doesnt give you much direction on how to get
there. Many students I talk to have this problem. They have considered what they want to
be able to do, but have no idea what to work on next in order to get there.
Once you have a long term goal such as I want to be able to play in a band, you can work
See accompanying worksheets 5-6 WRITTEN BY JEFF SCHEETZ | WWW.SMARTPRACTICEACADEMY.COM I 11

backwards and state the short term goals like this. In order to be able to play in a band,
I need to be knowledgeable about chords and scales, and work on my rhythm. We will
put some of those short term action goals to work in the lists we will create in the next
section. As long as you have an overall vision of what you want to be able to do, that is a
great start.
Start with the long term and then work backwards until you come to the crucial point
What to work on NOW.
SKILLBOX INVENTORY LISTS

CHAPTER SIX
A
s we are starting to shift into gear to move forward, it is important to take
a look at where you are right now. Take stock in what you know so you
can determine the best things to work on. Productivity guru David Allen in
Getting Things Done talks about performing a Brain Dump of everything
you need to do in order to be able to better organize your tasks. That is what I want you
to do with all of your guitar knowledge.
I call this taking a Skillbox Inventory. Just like having a toy box as a kid, your Skillbox is
where you store all of the details of your guitar playing. You will take an inventory of these
details and organize all of this information into three lists which will help keep all of
it accessible.
*
Take some time, and write three lists, labeling them with these headings:
What I know What I am working on What I need to know
1. WHAT I KNOW
Divide this rst list up into sub-sections like - Scales, Chords, Arpeggios, Songs, Exercises,
Bits and pieces. Basically write down everything that you have worked on and can say you
12 I SMART PRACTICE FOR GUITAR See accompanying worksheets 1-2

somewhat know. Whether it is a simple ngerpicking pattern, an exercise, a scale, a lick
or solo, or even a complete complex tune, write it down. You dont have to be able to play
it perfectly or completely, but you should be able to play whatever it is without looking at
tab or stopping too much to remember it. You should have a pretty large list, and this is
actually a powerful thing in itself because chances are you know more than you thought
you did. Seeing it written down helps you feel like you are getting somewhere. This list
along with the next one forms the main Inventory of all you can now play or are working
on.
2. WHAT I AM WORKING ON
This list will change the most because as you get these things down they will move to the
What I know list, and you will be replenishing this list with things from the following list
of what you need to learn. This list has any new techniques you are learning, or a cool lick
you are starting to work up, or a new ngerstyle song you are practicing. Basically what-
ever you dont completely know yet, but are working on.
3. WHAT I NEED TO KNOW

You can consult your master goals list to help you with this. As a matter of fact many of
your short term goal items can be on this list, but you are not really prioritizing or organiz-
ing them here, just listing stuff you want to be able to play. You also may have more things
here that you want to learn, but just havent put them into a goal yet. This list can still help
you dene what comes next -(You may want to be able to play Paganinnis 24th Caprice at
190bpm. But the rst step may be to just practice some of the parts and techniques to
get started). This list will also change as your tastes and interests change.
Once you have your three lists written out, you need to review them often to stay abreast
of your learning path. These lists are what you will use to plan your practice schedule.
This circle of knowledge will provide a uid learning path; the things from What I am
working on eventually move onto the What I know list. The What I need to know list will
feed the What I am working on list.
One of the biggest benets of making these lists will be the ability to see an overall
snapshot of your playing. It is really hard to see everything clearly when it is all jumbled
together in that grey matter in your skull, but when you can lay it all out in the three lists
you can step back and get a great overview. Take it out of the grey matter and put it on
the white paper.

SMART ZONE PRACTICE
CHAPTER SEVEN
K, now that you have considered all of your goals and have all of your lists
O
made, we come to the action part of our plan; what do you practice? This
is where we make our schedule.
I nd that dividing practice time into too many sections can make things
confusing. Too many moving parts can end up with us not following through on the plan.
So I like to stick with 3 sections or zones of practice. I want you to divide whatever time
you have to practice into 3 zones. Regardless of whether you have 30 minutes or 3 hours,
we will divide it into zones like this. Zone 1 is 20% of your time, Zone 2 is 60%, and Zone 3
is 20%. This doesnt have to be exact but we roughly want Zone 2 to have a bigger chunk
of time, so a 1 hour practice session could be 30 to 40 minutes in Zone 2 with Zones 1
and 3 getting 10 to 15 minutes each. *
Once your time has been divided up, lets look at what to actually practice in each of these
zones.
ZONE 1: WARM UPS AND DRILLS

This is for warm up exercises, running through scales, playing simple chord progressions
(we are not doing new stuff here -so it all has to be things you can play well and just
run through) -it is good to learn some specic things that you can put on your What I
know list that you can use here in this zone of the practice schedule. Work on technique
- playing properly and cleanly. We are just warming up and also drilling on some muscle
memory stuff. This material comes from the What I know list.
ZONE 2: LEARNING AND WORKING

Here is where we will spend the bulk of our practice time. We do a couple of things in
this zone. We work on the new things we are learning. That can be a new song - a new
scale - a new bit of theory - a new technique - but something that we cant do and are
learning. This should be the biggest focus of your time. I always tell my students Spend
most of your time practicing what you CANT play! The other thing we can do in this zone
14 I SMART PRACTICE FOR GUITAR See accompanying worksheets 3-4

is play some things that we sort of have down - maybe a solo we learned last week but
really need to polish a bit more. Then take a few minutes at the end of this zone to review
things from your notebook. This material will mainly come from the What I am working
on list, but you can also pull new ideas to start working on from the What I need to
know list.
ZONE 3: PLAYING AND CREATING

This is where we make music. Work on soloing over jam tracks -playing along with a song
that you know -and writing and creating. You should be doing a lot of improvising here
-not running scales, all improv and fun stuff. Here is where you turn your distortion up
and play with sounds - Keep this zone FUN! This is the payoff zone after the hard work
you did in the last two zones. This material can come from the What I know list as well as
the What I am working on list. It can also be stuff you are creating during this time.
Unfortunately many players start their practice time in Zone 3 and never leave there. That
is fun, but getting stuck there wont move you forward like being more organized will.
It should be pointed out that while this division of time should be the normal way you
schedule your practice, keep in mind that you can vary this if you need to. For example:
You may have an hour and after a few minute of drills you just want to jam. Fine -spend
10 minutes on drills and the rest of the time just jamming. Or you may be frustrated with
your picking technique and decide to spend the whole hour just doing picking drills to
woodshed your right hand. That is great! The key is you should always be aware of what
you are working on, and make a conscious effort to plan your time. Starting with these
zones will get you on track and keep a balance between what you already know and what
you need to know.
How do you pull the material from your lists to work on during your practice time? In
other words WHAT you practice NEXT.
Time to re-visit the three lists we made out. As you plan Zone 1 - look at your list and pick
several things that t into this category; exercises, pieces you know etc - warm up/drill
down stuff. Then for Zone 2, look at the new things you are working on and pick a couple
of them for that time. Finally, grab a couple things for Zone 3. If you do this each time you
practice, you can mix it up with a wide variety of things and keep practice fun. Also when
you really need to focus on something you can keep it in your schedule for however long

it takes to get it down. So this method gives you the best of both worlds; variety to keep it
interesting, and pinpoint focus to really nail stuff.
SCHEDULE YOUR TIME

CHAPTER EIGHT
A
s we are talking about creating your practice plan, it should be pointed out
that while it is great to grab some practice time whenever you can, if you
schedule your practice time just like you would a doctors appointment or
a hot date, it will get you into the habit of treating it more seriously.
For instance,Tuesday night you know you will be home - write down in your planner or
calendar Guitar Practice 7:00pm to 9:00pm. Then KEEP the appointment with yourself!
This also helps you know how much time you will have and how many things you should
pull from your master lists to work on in the proper zones.
There will be times when you just nd yourself with an extra hour where you can decide
to grab your guitar, and every bit helps whether it is scheduled or not. However, sched-
uling your time helps you make sure you get in what you need to. Without a doubt, if you
get into the simple habit of scheduling a denite practice time, you will see your playing
improve!
FIVE SMART STEPS

CHAPTER NINE
N
ow that we have our practice schedule, have moved items from our lists
into the proper Zones and are ready to sit down and practice, how do we
actually go about working on the material in order to get the most out of
it? We want to be effective with our practice time and make sure the time
we spend is producing good results.

The SMART practice system of working on anything should contain these 5 SMART steps.
When you put these things together you will see exceptional results and improvement.
HERE ARE THE 5 SMART STEPS FOR THE MOST EFFECTIVE PRACTICE:
1. You gotta want it -Be motivated 4. Apply Repetition and measure

to practice this for the sole and track your efforts
purpose to improve
5. Acquire ongoing feedback on
2. Analyze and breakdown the skill your effort, from an instructor, or
to be practiced into small sec- self analysis from recordings - use
tions the 4 Rs - Record, Review, Rene,
Repeat
3. Use SMART practice techniques to
work on these sections individu-
ally then together
Lets see how these steps apply to something you are going to practice; a blues lick for
example.
1. You have to be motivated to want to get better at this lick. You have to commit to practice
it with the sole intention of improving your performance, not just jam through it for fun.
2. Analyze the lick and try to break it into smaller parts to be worked on. A logical simple
place to start for guitar practice is to look at what your right hand is doing and what your
left hand is doing. If you can break the lick down into right and left hand techniques, (such
as the left hand is doing a hammer-on that needs to be smooth, and the right hand is
alternate picking so you need to use minimum motion in your picking strokes), then you
have components to work on.

3. Once the lick is broken into smaller parts you can work on each one using any of our
various SMART practice techniques such as; Right, Wrong, Right -Super Slo-Mo - Do It
Different - Play In The Dark etc. (See the SMART practice technique section for a complete
list). Intense focus on each component of the lick will help super charge the whole thing
once you put it all together.
4. Next you will use repetition to rst drill on the components and then put it all together
and drill on the entire lick. You should use a metronome where appropriate, and keep
track of your tempos as well as writing your thoughts down in your notebook in order to
track your progress.
5. Along the path of mastering this lick, getting feedback from an instructor or recording
yourself playing the lick, then reviewing the video and tweaking your technique is what will
help you identify trouble spots and keep improving. Continuously Record, Review, Rene,
Repeat!
So whenever you sit down to start working on anything, put it through these 5 SMART
steps and you will nd that whatever you are doing will be more organized and clear for
you to tackle.
THE FOUR RS
CHAPTER 10
R
ecord - Review - Rene - Repeat
These 4 Rs will make sure you are progressing, and will help you simulta-
neously track and drill down on what you need to work on.
The next best thing to having an expert assess you and evaluate what you are doing, is
to do it yourself. It is important that SOMEONE is evaluating, so if you cant get ongoing
access to an expert, you have to step outside yourself and analyze your own skill. It is
good idea to do this anyway, even if in conjunction with working with an instructor.

The best way to do this is to get in a habit of recording yourself. You can record audio, but
it is way better to do video and audio as being able to see yourself performing the skill
is key. Record yourself playing whatever it is you are working on and then watch, taking
notes just as you would if you were the teacher and the person on the screen had come
to you for help. This actually helps you see a slightly different perspective on things as
well, so being The Teacher is a good exercise.
Be diligent about making yourself stick to the circle of the 4 Rs -Record, Review, Rene,
Repeat. This system will help you drill down on exactly what you need to work on. Try
recording different things and techniques as this will give you a look at various aspects of
your playing.

SECTION 3
SMART PRACTICE TECHNIQUES

CHAPTER 11
T
he next section is all about making the time you spend practicing both
effective, and fun!
Dr. Emrah Duzel from the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience can help us
here. What? Wait a minute. We are guitar players, why do we need Neuroscience? Well,
Dr. Duzel along with others have found through their studies that retaining information

and learning is helped by novelty. In other words NOT just doing the same thing over and
over again. That is why sometimes it can seem like even though you drill on something
forever, you still can mess it up!
So having a variety of ways to approach the licks, songs and techniques you are working
on will not only keep you interested, but will also help you learn and retain the informa-
tion better!
The various ways of practicing in this next section have not only served me well in my own
playing, but have been used by literally thousands of students over the years with great
results. You will nd that some resonate for you better than others, so try them all out on
various things you are working on to see what helps you the most. Be sure and mix it up
and keep novelty in your practicing!
RIGHT, WRONG, RIGHT

CHAPTER 12
G
uitar is a very tactile instrument. In other words you feel the guitar under
your ngers. How do you know if you are doing something right? Many
times you can tell when it feels right.
So when practicing, one technique I nd very helpful is what I call the Right, Wrong, Right
method. You will play something several times the right way, but then make yourself play
it wrong. Maybe that means with your hand in a weird position, or a bad ngering pattern,
but just do it wrong a couple of times. Then immediately notice what the wrong element
is, and correct it and play it right several times paying special attention to the part that you
just corrected. This will help you know when it feels right. You will nd that you become
very comfortable doing it right and when you do it wrong a warning goes off in your head
because you have learned what wrong is!
This is a great technique for positional things and can really instantly improve your feel
on the guitar. In his book The Talent Code, Daniel Coyle outlines one of the main teach-

ing techniques in the arsenal of legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. One
of Woodens most frequent forms of teaching was a three-part instruction where he
modeled the right way to do something, showed the incorrect way, and then remodeled
the right way. There is no doubt that Coach Wooden knew a thing or two about building
excellent skills, and using this Right, Wrong, Right method will work on your guitar playing
just as well as it did on his 10 time National championship winning players.
DO IT LIKE YOU WILL DO IT

CHAPTER 13
I
f you are practicing with the intention of eventually performing on stage,
you want to look at a couple of things to help you get ready for that.
Many students who go out for their rst jam realize that practicing sitting
down in their comfortable chair is completely different than standing up on a stage.
Spending some of your time practicing standing up is really important as both your right
and left hands fall on a different place on the guitar in this position.
A word on guitar position. We all want to look cool when we play. You know, that punk
rocker pose with your Les Paul hanging down around your ankles and the menacing
sneer on your face. However -that is a terrible position to have your guitar in if you want
to be able to play anything more complicated than power chords! There are a few players
who have slung their guitar low and still played well, but perhaps longer arms and just
long suffering technique has allowed them to pull this off. For most of us, keeping your
guitar slightly higher up on the strap so it is in a position more like it would be if you were
sitting will lead to much easier and better playing. You can lower it for your photo shoot,
but keep it up in a playable position when you need to play your best!
The other thing that will usually be different is your volume. Most of us practice at a lower
volume than we play on stage. So it would be good to allow yourself to practice at a loud
volume some of the time. This is especially true if you are practicing songs that you will be
playing live, then by all means try to get your amp set up as close as you can to how it will

be on stage. Breaks in songs, or dynamic parts can be completely different to deal with at
a loud volume, so practice it like you will perform it.
SUPER SLOW-MO
CHAPTER 14
P
ractice 5 times slower that you normally do.
Not all the time, but some of the time. Especially when you get something
down pretty well but are having trouble taking it to the very top level. Stop,
slow down and really focus on your technique. Are your ngers as low as
you can get them? Are you playing cleanly? Are you smooth with it or are there any jerky
spots?
These things all become much more clear when you are playing very slowly. Also you may
actually hear other things within the musical part of what you are practicing. Often we get
so focused on just drilling on something that we miss out on the musicality of it. So slow
down and listen.
A good method is to take something that you are practicing on and after you have worked
on it at regular speed for a few minutes, do it a couple of times really slow paying atten-
tion to the technique stuff. Then, back up to speed. This is just a great habit to get into
regardless of what you are working on.
PLAY IT BACKWARDS
CHAPTER 15
I will never forget the rst time someone told me to play a lick backwards.
Just a simple blues lick, but I really had to think about it!

I nd that if you have a lick or short piece of music, trying to play it backwards can be a
challenge. Along the way, you will gain a new perspective on the lick, and really focus on
the parts. You nd yourself more engaged than when you play it forward for a couple
of reasons. First, it sounds completely different! Notes arranged in a different order,
and sometimes not as pleasing musical intervals make you think more of the lick than
just hear the natural melodic progression. Second, the techniques that make up the lick
played in the normal way are regular guitar techniques, so when you play those back-
wards, they will be strange! Which once again causes you to focus much more intently.
So make a habit of playing something backwards during each practice session.
PLAY IT IN THE DARK

CHAPTER 16
S
cience has shown us that closing our eyes can actually help us hear. It
makes sense. When you shut off the distractions and input from your eye-
sight it puts the focus on the input from your hearing.
We can use this cool hearing improvement hack in our practicing. While you can just close
your eyes, I suggest sitting in a room that is completely dark. It has to be so dark that
if you look down at your guitar neck you cannot see it. You may have to do some quick
explaining of this part of your practice session when your spouse or parent opens the
door to you sitting in the dark but it will be worth it.
Playing anything, licks, scales, chord progressions in the dark is a great way to get a feel
for the neck as well as working on hearing what you are playing instead of watching
it on the fretboard. But my favorite thing to work on in the darkness is improvising. I will
take a scale (any scale you know and can play) and just start improvising with it. You can
do this regardless of what level you are, and it will elevate your perception of pitch and
ingrain the patterns in your head. If it is difcult for you, you can visualize the fretboard in
your head as you play until you get used to not seeing it and just feeling it.
This way of playing without seeing what you are doing has many benets including being

able to play onstage and look around instead of having your eyes glued to the fretboard.
Even when you are playing in a lighted room, take advantage of the boost your hearing
will get by shutting your eyes and letting the music be what it is supposed to be. A
hearing art.
PLAY LIKE CARL

CHAPTER 17
W e are all familiar with the classic scene in Caddyshack where Carl the
greenskeeper is whacking away at the country clubs owers. He is
simultaneously playing the voice of the commentator calling the game,
and the young golfer. Cinderella story, out of nowhere, a former green-
skeeperand now, about to become the Masters Champion.
You dont have to be your own commentator, but this same idea can be used to think of
yourself onstage as you play through a song or solo. This is actually a really good tech-
nique to help you get over stage fright as well. Thinking of yourself playing in different
situations as you practice can help prepare you for anything.
So try thinking of a different situation when you practice a lick. Think of doing it over just
a 3 piece band onstage. Then think of doing it in the studio with you in the isolation room
with headphones on and a producer looking at you through the glass. Then think about
playing it onstage with a funk band with a horn section and platform shoes! Mixing up the
situations that are going on in your head while you are practicing the lick can be a really
powerful technique.

FUN AND GAMES
CHAPTER 18
hen I was a little kid we had a pool table. However, as an only child,
W when my Dad was at work I had nobody to play with. So, I would prac-
tice, but found that I stayed more interested if I created games in my
head. I would sometimes just play as two players, switching cue sticks
as each player took their turn. But often I would create new games;
Set three balls in the center and see how many shots it took to make them all. Then keep
trying to better my score.
This can be a great way to practice guitar. Create games where you can play against
yourself. Try to play 2 Am chords, 2 Am arpeggios and nd every A note on the fret-
board, all within a certain time. Or play a chord progression without making any mistakes,
or a solo note for note with a rhythm track without looking. Make a game of the repeti-
tions you have to do and make it fun!
FIVE TIMES PERFECT

CHAPTER 19
T
his falls into the category of adding games to your practice. It is certainly
a technique that I use often when I am working with a lick. I also nd it
especially helpful for a student who is struggling to get something down.
The technique is simply this: Play whatever you are working on, and play it perfectly 5
times in a row before you move on. That means in time, all of the notes clean and solid.
That sounds simple, but if you keep making a mistake on the 5th time through it can get
pretty frustrating! This will tend to make you really focus on your technique and timing.
Nothing like the fear of potentially having to play the same lick for the next 3 hours to
make you focus and get it right!

This can work for a simple scale, or a piece of music, but I nd it is really good for working
on shorter licks or riffs. So take a scale or lick you are working on and put it to the 5
times test.
DO IT DIFFERENT
CHAPTER 20
U
se the Different method to gain a better feel on the guitar.
As you are working on anything, stop and do it differently. Here are some
of my favorite ways to apply this:
1. Radically play it at a different speed. Take a slow blues lick and play it as fast as you can
- take a fast funky rhythm and slow it down to ballad speed. This gives you a completely
different perspective on the intricacies of what you are working on.
2. Take something that you use heavy distortion on and play it with a sparkling clean sound.
If there is a clean picking part, play it with a wah-wah pedal. Hearing it with a different
sound will help you see it in a new light.
3. If there is a super quiet and mellow section of a tune you are working on, play it as loud
and heavy handed as you can. Take a metal rhythm and play it with a really light touch.
4. Change feels. Play the blues shufe rhythm you are working on as a straight country beat.
Make the clean picking in a rock ballad swing, or play it as a Reggae groove.
Just take anything and do the opposite and make it EXTREME! This sounds crazy but it
really forces you to focus on what you are playing and make small mental judgements on
what works and what doesnt. This again shows you how it feels to be right.

BUMP THE CEILING
CHAPTER 21
S
tudies have shown that our learning is accelerated when we are practicing
on the edge of our ability. This means what I call Bumping the Ceiling can
be a very effective way to increase your skill.
Especially once you have something down, you should spend a good part of your prac-
tice time on the edge of your ability. In other words, if you are working on a lick and you
can play it cleanly with the metronome at 120 bpm, but it gets sloppy at 130 bpm, -spend
some time trying it at 130, even if it gets a little sloppy -then slow it back down and do it
at 120, then 125 etc. This trying to bump up the ceiling of your ability is what gradually
stretches you into becoming better.
This works with speed, stretching to wide intervals, clean precise picking and more.
The secret is to know where your ceiling is, and where your safe spot is so you can go
back and forth between them. With a little practice you will be able to take anything you
are working on and push it to the edge, and then slow it back down to where you can
play it perfectly. Gradually your ceiling of ability will go up.

SECTION 4
METHODS AND CONCEPTS

CHAPTER 22
I
n this section I want to share some of the important things that make
practice time work that may not always be the rst things you think of. We
will look at tools that can help you practice and concepts that if applied will
help you understand how we get better.

PRACTICE NOTEBOOK
CHAPTER 23
O
ne of the keys to any journey is keeping track of where you are along the
way. This is where a Practice Notebook comes into play.
Whether your Practice Notebook is digital or analog -it should contain

everything that will help you be better organized.
You should have your goals list in there. You also want your 3 lists of all your guitar knowl-
edge (which you will be continually adding to). Having the lists you made of all you know in
there will help you as you will be pulling things from these to put on your schedule. Having
some blank tabs or chord diagram sheets is a good idea as well. Some type of calendar or
planner where you can write out your practice schedule zones will not only be great for
scheduling the next practice time, but will also serve as a helpful tool to review past ses-
sions and check progress.
Also, as you are practicing, it is important to jot down some thoughts (you can add these
in a column on your schedule), but basically write down things you notice -breakthroughs,
difcult parts, whatever you notice as you are playing. This really helps you clarify your
playing and practice time and is a great way to look back to see what you have been
doing. Of course you will want to write down your metronome settings and any number of
repetitions you do on certain techniques.
TOOLS
CHAPTER 24
A
ny carpenter will tell you that having the right tool for the job is not only
a big time saver, but makes the work way more enjoyable. (Ever bust
your knuckles under the bathroom sink because you were trying to get a

coupling unstuck with a regular pliers instead of a pipe wrench or vice grips?) Tools are
important.
As a practicing guitarist we dont need a lot, and can in fact get by with a pretty simple tool
set. However, here are some things that you may want to include in your practice area to
make your practice time more enjoyable and more effective.
Guitar(s) setting on stands ready to go
Amp
Metronome (and drum machine or way to play drum loops)
Practice Notebook (includes your master list, schedule, goals list, blank tab)
Box of picks, slides, capos and any other accessory you may need
Extra sets of strings and string winder
Cloth for wiping off strings and guitar after practice
Recording method (video recorder, recording software)
Computer (for recording yourself, watching video lessons, playing jam tracks)
Headphones, studio speakers
Extra Cables
Music Stand
Comfortable chair
Guitar strap because sometimes you should practice while standing up
Clock or Timer (for keeping track of how long you work in each zone)

MAKE IT EASY
CHAPTER 25
M
ake it easy to practice. What does that mean? Dont have your guitar
packed in the closet and your cables all rolled up and your amp
unplugged and in the corner. That makes it too difcult to just get set up
to practice!
I know it is sometimes hard due to space limitations to have a Practice area set up all
the time. But the rewards of doing this are huge! If your guitar is sitting on the stand, and
you just have to sit down and turn on one power strip and start playing -you will be much
more motivated to grab a few minutes of practice here and there. If you have to drag your
guitar out each time you want to play, it will be too easy to convince yourself that it is not
worth doing all of that for the small amount of time you have available to practice.
So take a little time and design your practice space. Maybe you have a room where you
have all of your gear set up, or maybe you just practice sitting at your computer. Wherever
it is, put some thought into keeping the important tools you need for a practice session
within easy reach.
I remember living in a small apartment where I used to slide my guitar in its case under
the bed. As silly as it may sound, I found myself not practicing as much as I wanted until
I started leaving the guitar out on a stand ready to go. Out of sight, out of mind applies
here.
To stay motivated to practice you want to remove any barriers. Having to set up your gear
is one barrier you can avoid by just having everything easily accessible, organized and
ready to go.

NUMBER ONE PROBLEM?
CHAPTER 26
W
hat is the number one problem we face when practicing? OK, there may
be several problems that could occupy this spot, however one that will
derail your entire plan, is practicing something wrong over and over. All
this does is make you really good at playing really bad!
Motor learning, or what we often refer to as muscle memory is the ability to repeat a
movement to the point where it doesnt require conscious effort. This is what helps us
play songs or licks without thinking about them, our ngers just seem to know the way.
The thing about muscle memory is it doesnt discriminate. It will learn and retain bad tech-
nique just the same as it will good technique.
This is why it is so important to stay organized with your practice, and keep analyzing
and reviewing what and how you are practicing. Even with things that you think you have
down, dont take them for granted! Go back through licks and things you have been
playing for years and look at hand position, pick angle, wrist movement, level of relaxation,
nger placement and more. Really TRY to nd what is wrong. Even if it is a small thing, x
it. This will elevate your overall playing.
One good method for dealing with this is to do what I call a Spring cleaning prac-
tice session every couple of months. This is where you will do nothing but look at all
of the things you already think you know, and try to be extra critical to see if they can
be improved. If you nd something you need to work on, put it back on the What I am
working on list so you can get it back on the schedule.

CHUNKING
CHAPTER 27
W
e can take a big step forward in how efcient our practice is if we learn
to incorporate Chunking. The concept of Chunking is easily under-
stood when you take a random set of letters, look at them for a few
seconds and try to memorize the order. (mrtsa ctciepar)
OK, now without looking can you repeat them? Probably, but you may have had to think
for a minute.
Now, lets arrange those exact same letters like this (smart practice). How long did that
take you to memorize the order now? That is because you have chunked those letters
together in a familiar way, you know the words that these letters form, therefore making it
easy to recall all of the letters in order.
Chunking several small bits of information together in order to form a larger piece of
information which is then memorized is easier than memorizing the individual bits.
This can help us as guitar players with memorizing scales, songs, theory. One way to work
on this is to always look at how things are related. When you learn a C chord, dont stop
there, but rather look at how adding one other note will make that a C7. Learning things
in chunks can drastically improve your range of knowledge.
Chunking is also used in our motor learning, or muscle memory. This is why in the 5
Steps section of our SMART practice we want to break things down into smaller compo-
nents. Working on a lick in several small pieces then leads to us putting those together in
a chunk which will make it easy to play.
As you are practicing anything always look at other things that are directly related, and try
to build this relationship into your practice.

TEACHERS
CHAPTER 28
A
good instructor can watch what you are doing and provide you with
feedback and assessment of your technique and playing. Often they
can point out issues or problems you cant see yourself. Since they
have been down the road you are on, they can also help with guidance
on the important question of What to work on next.
I have seen many students who have struggled for years to improve in a meaningful way,
start taking lessons with a good instructor and immediately see results. Students some-
times get stuck in a rut and just keep spinning their wheels, eventually getting frustrated.
A good instructor can evaluate where your current skill level is, nd out where you want to
go, and then prescribe a path to get there.
How do you nd a good instructor?
In the old days the only option was to call local music stores and book some time with the
instructor they set you up with and hope for the best! This didnt always turn out optimal
for the student. When the heavy metal student gets sent to study with the elderly classical
lady. It is not the most favorable pairing!
However, today, word of mouth for local teachers can be found in online recommenda-
tions, forums and various other social media outlets. Of course most teachers have an
online presence where you can go check out how they play etc. It is also now possible on
TrueFire.com for students to have the opportunity to study with top instructors one on
one in an online classroom. Here the student can get video assignments, and feedback
and guidance on videos they send to the instructor regardless of where the student and
instructor live in the world. So there really is no excuse to not at least do some study with
an instructor whether in your hometown or online.

A MEASURING STICK
CHAPTER 29
W
hen you set out to build anything, having a blueprint is the rst step.
However, once you start the work, having a way to measure as you go
is key.
A metronome is considered an essential part of any musicians learning

toolkit, and for good reason. Having a good sense of rhythm and being able to play in time
is probably the number one thing most musicians would say they look for in other players
to jam with. So having good timing equals getting more gigs.
Consistent practice with a metronome will help you develop your sense of timing and
get you used to syncing up with a source outside yourself. That is not the only thing you
can use a metronome for. It is a great measuring stick. Keeping track of how fast you
play certain exercises and pieces of music is a great way to see your progress. I suggest
writing down your metronome settings for each thing you are working on. That way as you
improve you will be able to see your success by watching your metronome numbers go
up.
Having a metronome that can play various note groupings is a good idea. One that just
clicks off quarter notes will work, but if you can sub-divide the beat into triplets or six-
teenth notes it can help you get a better grasp on feels and rhythms.
Always start with your metronome setting at a speed slower than you can play whatever
you are working on. Then lock in your foot tapping with the metronome, and play the part.
Listen to make sure you are actually in time and not just sort of in time. This is a GREAT
place to record yourself and then listen back. You have to learn to be critical of your
timing and keep slowing the metronome down until you can nail it. There are many exer-
cises you can do to help improve timing like simply clapping your hands with the metro-
nome and try to be so exact that your clap drowns out the sound of the click. When you
can only hear your clap - you are in time!
Gradually speed the metronome up as you work on things, dont do too big of a jump

with it even if you feel like you are ready - take it in small steps and you will build smooth
technique. Play the part several times at one speed and then increase the metronome
by a couple of clicks. Repeat this process as you work your speed up. Remember, playing
cleanly and in time should be the number one goal for practicing anything. Speed will
come after you have it clean and in time.
FRUSTRATION
CHAPTER 30
H
ow to avoid frustrations.
Playing guitar can be a roller coaster ride! Love, Hate, Love, Hate. The key
to keeping the overall experience on the upside is to avoid getting frus-
trated when you are trying to improve. I am about to give you the number one thing that
you need to tell yourself over and over again. The one thing that I have discovered in all
my years of teaching thousands of students. Ready?
I have NEVER seen a student who practiced the right things, in the right way, and put in
a reasonable amount of time NOT get better. Period! You may improve quickly, or it may
take you a little longer - but if you put in the practice time on the right things the right
way. You WILL get better! I have heard every excuse you can imagine; My hands arent
big enough, I dont have a good ear, My hands are too big, My family doesnt have
rhythm, I need a new guitar and on and on. However, the ONLY reason that will keep
a person from improving is if they dont practice the right things the right way, and put in
the time. So that is the good news!!! You can do this! Tell yourself this - If I keep SMART
practicing I WILL get better!
Below are a few things that will help you deal with frustrations along the way.
1. GET OVER THE HUMP

When you rst start anything, there is a hump just ahead. Until you get over that hump
you will struggle, get frustrated and discouraged. This is where most rst time guitar
players quit - before they get over the hump. The key is to remind yourself that whatever
you are learning you just need to get over that hump, and then it will get better.

2. THINK LONG TERM
Dont worry about what you sound like NOW, make yourself think about what you will
sound like 6 months from now if you keep practicing. It is easy to get discouraged when
things dont sound as good as you think they should - so tell yourself you are going to
postpone judgement on how this song or lick sounds for 6 months, then if you still think
it sounds bad you can quit and take up the Tuba instead! I guarantee if you keep think-
ing like this it will help you stay focused on the big picture instead of getting caught up in
being too judgmental on your playing. Which leads into:
3. YOU WILL PLATEAU SOMETIMES

Every player I talk to, whether they have been playing 1 year or 20 years each will say
the same thing, that they sometimes get the feeling they are just not getting any better.
Spinning their wheels. Stuck in a rut. Sound familiar? Your playing will have its ups and
downs. But the thing to do when you are feeling like you are not moving is relax! I know
that doesnt sound like it will work, but if you will relax and realize that this plateau effect is
natural and happens to everyone, then you wont be frustrated by it. Then, to get moving
again and have that next breakthrough, just dig into something new, or a new way to look
at what you are working on. But always know that like I said earlier -I have NEVER seen a
student who practiced the right things, in the right way, and put in a reasonable amount
of time, NOT get better! So keep at it and you will soon be off of this plateau and moving
up!
4. PROCESS OVER OUTCOME

Whatever your goals are, as you sit down to practice dont get too obsessed with being
able to play the end result, but rather focus on the steps you need to take to get there. If
you concentrate on doing the process you will achieve the outcome. Always focus your
efforts and mind on the process. Just like with number two above -dont be too harsh or
judgmental on what you are doing, just follow the process.

BORED?
CHAPTER 31
A re you bored with practice? Need some inspiration? Here are 10 things to
do right now to shake things up.
Call a friend who plays and ask them to get together to jam.
Stand up! If you are used to sitting down, stand and practice.
Change where you practice for a day - do it on the deck or roof.
Go see a band! Nothing makes you want to play like seeing players.
Re-string your guitar. I always love playing on fresh strings!
Look at and focus on your goals list. Practice will get you there.
Buy a new piece of gear! New stuff always makes practice fun.
Use a weird effect to play. Similar to above but without the spousal disapproval.
Play a different instrument! Have a piano? Drums? Play whatever you have.
Listen to a recording of you from months or years ago, practice made you better!
Bonus Tip:
The bonus tip is this: Its guitar! Its fun! Dont stress out over it, just enjoy!

STRETCHING PHYSIOLOGY
CHAPTER 32
W
hat do athletes do when they are getting ready to compete or practice?
Thats right, most will do a series of stretches and warm ups before
they dive into their activities. This serves the purpose of warming up
the muscles to not only allow them to perform better, but also helps to
reduce injury. Since your hands and arms are made up of muscles and
tendons, it certainly makes sense to spend a little time getting them ready for the physical
task of practicing guitar.
I like to do a few simple warm up movements to get my hands stretched out before I even
grab the guitar. Then once I start my actual practice routine with the guitar I slowly ease
into the warm ups I will be practicing in Zone 1.
As you are practicing, if you feel yourself getting tired, or feel soreness in your hands or
shoulder, try to stop and stretch again. Many times this comes from being too tense when
you play. If you continue to have pain, you should see a hand specialist as carpal tunnel
can occur from repetitive movements. This is usually do to a combination of other repet-
itive hand movements like working at a computer. However, I have had several students
avoid surgery by just doing proper exercises and using proper technique. Just be aware of
what your body is telling you and try to correct it before it becomes a real problem.
RELAX
CHAPTER 33
O One of the top problems I see with players is that they tend to tense up
when playing. This makes it very hard to get in the groove and ow. Plus it

can lead to injuries and at the very least sore hands and arms. Your playing can improve
instantly when you go from the tense state to one of relaxing as you play. This allows your
ideas to ow from your brain to your ngertips with the least amount of issues along the
way.
Just like with stretching, dont be afraid to stop in the middle of a practice session and
get yourself to relax. Let your arms dangle freely at your sides, and rotate your neck and
shoulders. Breathe. I nd that reminding yourself to breathe in a calm manner while
playing keeps your rhythm much more relaxed and in time. If you play while all tensed up
you will nd your playing sounding choppy and jerky, instead of natural and smooth like it
will when you are relaxed.
Are you tense when you play? If so relax!
WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESS

CHAPTER 34
W
e have all heard that A chain is only as good as its weakest link. That
is true for your playing as well. If you are looking to be a well rounded
player, you need to make sure you spend some time on the weak
links of your playing.
To elevate your overall playing, you should look at what you are the worst at and make
sure you include that into your practice routine. While it is good to really go deep and
polish those things that you excel at, your overall playing will benet the most from focus-
ing on your weak links.
It is a good idea to identify your strong points and weak points in your master lists that
way you can keep a good overview of what you need to work on when.

LEFT HAND VS RIGHT HAND
CHAPTER 35
A
s guitarists we have two hands and one mind on the instrument. Knowing
which hand to work on when is one of the keys to successful practice.
I have found that for most students there is a constant pull between
which hand needs the most work. Often a student will really buckle down and work on
his picking, so much that his left hand strength may suffer. So then he focuses on the left
hand with legato exercises and hammer on drills, and then his alternate picking gets a
little sketchy.
This is normal and something you should embrace instead of letting it throw you off. Take
a critical look at each hand as you practice and shift your focus to the one that is lagging
behind and bring it up to the level of the other. Many times students will say they are
struggling with picking, but when I look at what they are practicing on they have very few
picking exercises and very little right hand focus. So back to Spend time practicing what
you are not good at.
BE PREPARED
CHAPTER 36
L
ike the Boy Scouts motto of Be Prepared, one of the things that is import-
ant to include in your practicing is to prepare for various things you may
encounter.
I have seen so many students over the years who are practiced up and ready to go out to
a jam. They have their parts down cold and know what they are going to do. But then at
the jam, something goes wrong and they fall to pieces.

Almost every time you get up on stage to jam or play, something will probably seem very
different than you are used to. Maybe the drums are too loud, or you cant hear the mon-
itors, or your guitar just sounds different in this room. Sometimes the bass player goes
to the wrong section of the song, sometimes the other guitarists amp quits in the middle
of a song. You might have an inebriated patron jump up on stage to help you sing! You
will drop your only guitar pick, get shocked by the vocal mic, and encounter a plethora of
other issues at almost every gig or jam. And until you are playing a lot and using an in ear
monitoring system, you will experience many differences in sound every time you play.
You want to get to a comfortable place with your playing so when things go wrong or are
not normal for you, it wont freak you out. You will just be calm, cool and collected in
the heat of the chaos! If you can throw in a few variations during practice it will help you
prepare for what might come. Occasionally playing in a different room, and with a differ-
ent amp, and different lighting can help. Stand in a corner, get in a small space where you
cant move, play outside, or with your amp turned down really low. Try to play through
your scales with your volume down and the T.V. turned up loud.
When things do go wrong or sound bad, just focus on your playing. Keep your mind
locked on your hands and on playing the part, and not the sound or the surroundings,
and this will help you deal with even the most awful situations!
MENTAL GAME
CHAPTER 37
M
ost performers work hard to master the ability to visualize the perfor-
mance before they actually do it. This skill of going through it in your head
before you actually do it can help you identify pitfalls or concerns that
you will encounter, and of course help give you condence you can get
through it.
You should also apply this method to your guitar practice session. If you have a difcult
lick or chord progression, try to go through it in your mind before you actually play it.

Sometimes I nd it extremely helpful to stop after I have played a part a few times and
just run through it in my mind without my hands on the guitar. This takes some of the
pressure of worrying about things like hand position out of the equation and allows me to
see the ow of the piece. It also gives me a break from grinding it out and can show me
a new perspective.
This is not as easy as it sounds! Keeping your mind focused on playing through a section
of a song while you have your eyes shut and are not moving your hands will take some
practice. However, once you master this, you can use it to set yourself up for anything you
will be practicing and feel much more condent when you tackle it. It also allows you the
freedom to practice some things when you dont have your instrument with you.
CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 38
T
o sum up SMART Practice for Guitar.
Make a list of short and long term goals you want to achieve as a musician
and a guitarist. What will it look like when you get there?
Do a Skillbox Inventory. Write down everything you currently know, and need to know on
guitar in 3 Lists.
DIVIDE YOUR PRACTICE TIME INTO

LABEL THESE LISTS:
3 SMART ZONES.
1. What I know
Zone 1: Warm Ups and Drills - 20%
2. What I am working on
Zone 2: Learning and Working - 60%
3. What I need to know
Zone 3: Playing and Creating - 20%

Schedule your practice session and write down what you will work on in your practice
time by selecting things from your lists and putting them into one of the 3 time zones.
Use the 5 SMART Steps to: Check your motivation; Break down the material you are
working on into small components; Work through it with the various SMART practice
techniques; Measure and track your efforts; Seek feedback from an instructor whenever
possible, and record and analyze yourself constantly using the 4 Rs.
Review and update your goals and lists every month.
The SMART practice system. Practice the right things, in the right way, put in a reasonable
amount of time, and you WILL get better! I guarantee it!

ENDNOTES
CHAPTER 39


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A Smart Practice Book

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2 I SMART PRACTICE FOR GUITAR

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4 I SMART PRACTICE FOR GUITAR

Practice Smarter, and Get Better!

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Play Prot Practice

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See accompanying worksheets 5-6 WRITTEN BY JEFF SCHEETZ | WWW.SMARTPRACTICEACADEMY.COM I 11

SKILLBOX INVENTORY LISTS

What I know What I am working on What I need to know

12 I SMART PRACTICE FOR GUITAR See accompanying worksheets 1-2

3. WHAT I NEED TO KNOW

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ZONE 1: WARM UPS AND DRILLS

ZONE 2: LEARNING AND WORKING

14 I SMART PRACTICE FOR GUITAR See accompanying worksheets 3-4

ZONE 3: PLAYING AND CREATING

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SCHEDULE YOUR TIME

FIVE SMART STEPS

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1. You gotta want it -Be motivated 4. Apply Repetition and measure

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SMART PRACTICE TECHNIQUES

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RIGHT, WRONG, RIGHT

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DO IT LIKE YOU WILL DO IT

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So make a habit of playing something backwards during each practice session.

PLAY IT IN THE DARK

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PLAY LIKE CARL

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FIVE TIMES PERFECT

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METHODS AND CONCEPTS

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Whether your Practice Notebook is digital or analog -it should contain

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Guitar(s) setting on stands ready to go

Metronome (and drum machine or way to play drum loops)

Extra sets of strings and string winder

Cloth for wiping off strings and guitar after practice

Recording method (video recorder, recording software)

Headphones, studio speakers

Guitar strap because sometimes you should practice while standing up

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